Nylon Artificial Grass

ABSTRACT

An artificial grass product has 100% nylon face fabric which forms blades of grass when tufted. This grass shows a melt temperature exceeding 400 degrees Fahrenheit, at least about 100 degrees hotter than prior art materials. The thatch can be made of similar materials for at least some embodiments. When coupled with multiple yarns extending from common penetrations, quite durable and attractive products can be provided. Furthermore, resiliency in excess of 10% over prior art polyethylene or polypropylene grass products can be experienced with at least some embodiments.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

The present invention is a divisional of U.S. Non-Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 15/655,973, filed on Jul. 21, 2017 which claims thebenefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/368,555 filed Jul. 29,2016, both of which are incorporated herein by reference in theirentirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a 100% nylon artificial or syntheticgrass product.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Polypropylene and polyester have been utilized for face fabric yarns(i.e. grass blades) for years. Although there are advantages of eitherof these plastic fibers yarns, there are also disadvantages.

Both of these yarns have a melt temperature of around 270 degreesFahrenheit. Resiliency is also somewhat of an issue with polypropyleneand polyethylene face fibers in that if they are deformed for asignificant period of time, they may tend to retain their deformedshape. Accordingly there is a need for a product with higher melttemperatures such as those which might be encountered in extremely hotenvironments or caused in specific location such as by reflections orother phenomena which could be assisted by reflected light or othersituations which may create a tendency for at least localized melting.

Additionally no manufacturer is known by the applicant to providemulti-color nylon face fabric.

Furthermore, no manufacturer is known by the applicant to utilize nylonface fiber in combination with nylon thatch to provide a 100% nylonartificial grass product in the marketplace.

As one can readily see, even if someone were to provide a productutilizing nylon as a portion of the total product, the melt temperatureof the face fiber yarns which are normally polyethylene andpolypropylene would still be a limiting factor for those products.

Accordingly, an improved product is believed to be desirable in themarketplace.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A present object and many embodiments of the present invention is toprovide an improved artificial grass product.

Another object of many embodiments of the present invention is animproved artificial or synthetic grass product for use as artificialgrass having 100% nylon for both face fiber and thatch yarns.

Another object of many embodiments of the present invention is toprovide an improved synthetic grass product having at least two yarnends provided on a cone to be tufted through backing as face fabrictufts so as to provide at least one of increased durability, resiliencyand increased aesthetic appeal by essentially having multiple yarnsand/or colors directed through the same opening provided by a needle asthe artificial grass is tufted through the backing as the face fabrictufts. The same is possible as well for thatch fiber tufts.

Still other embodiments are desirable to have at least three ends ormore provided on a single cone to then be directed to a single needlefor use in tufting up to three colors or more while also providingadditional durability and/or resilience through either or both of thethatch and the face fiber yarns.

Presently preferred embodiments provide two or three color (or more)options for either or both of face fabrics and thatch yarns. By tuftingmultiple ends through a single needed for artificial grass, improvedresiliency and durability such as resistance to wear can be experiencedin addition to different coloration possibilities.

By utilizing all nylon, the melting point for the artificial grass canbe elevated to up above 420 degrees Fahrenheit for nylon as opposed tobelow 300 degrees Fahrenheit or polyethylene and polypropylene. Such alarge increase may allow some manufacturers to provide a melt proofwarranty for many if not all installations. Accordingly a whole new setof artificial grass products with improved characteristics can beprovided to the marketplace.

Improved artificial grass products over those presently provided in themarketplace are believed to be possible with the applicant's currenttechnology.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The particular features and advantages of the invention as well as otherobjects will become apparent from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

-   -   a. The FIGURE is a side view of a portion of artificial grass        showing a face fiber tufted alongside thatch fibers to provide        an artificial grass product in accordance with a presently        preferred embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The FIGURE shows a presently preferred embodiment of the presentinvention in the form of artificial grass product 10 having face fibertufts 12 and thatch fiber tufts 14. The tufts 12 of face fiber arepreferably comprised of at least two different filaments or strands 16,18 of yarn, both of which are preferably nylon and which may also bedifferent colors. The FIGURE also shows an adjacent tuft with those sametwo filaments or strands 16, 18 as well as third filament or strand 20which could be one of those two colors or a third color. Tufts 12,14 aredirected through backing 28 as would be understood by those of ordinaryskill in the art. Backing 28 may be nylon or other material. Asreferenced herein, 100% nylon refers to the tufts 12,14 and not thebacking 28 or possibly other materials added below the backing 28.

Additional strands could be provided in tuft of strands 16,18,20 orothers as well. One embodiment that the applicant is about to launchwill have a tan, a lime and a green color combination for these threecolors. Nylon has been selected because it has a melt temperature wellabove 400 degrees Fahrenheit if not in a range of 428-509 degreesFahrenheit depending on which type nylon is selected. This is believedto be a huge improvement over the prior art polypropylene andpolyethylene options with polypropylene typically having a melttemperature of 266 degrees Fahrenheit and polyethylene having a typicalmelt temperature in the range of about 239-275 degrees Fahrenheit. Noparty is known by the applicant to use nylon as face fiber (grassblades) yarn for artificial or synthetic grass (i.e. in residential andcommercial landscape artificial grass applications).

As one ordinarily skilled in the art can quickly surmise, by removingthe polyethylene and the polypropylene from the artificial grass 10 asis normally provided by the prior art, the melt temperature of theentire artificial grass 10 can be elevated to a significant degree of atleast 50% greater than currently available products in the marketplace.This means that not only can the applicant provide an improved product,but also they can provide a melt proof warranty which would be almostunheard of the polypropylene and polyethylene markets where reflectionand glare in certain situations can cause the localized melting of theartificial grass in the prior art.

Additionally, resiliency is believed to be increased by at least afactor of 15-20% over polypropylene and polyethylene by utilizing nylonwhich has increased resiliency characteristics for the same yarn shapeconfigurations if not better depending upon how the cross sectionalshaping of the yarn fibers or strands 16, 18, 20 is made. The same istrue for the thatch tufts 14 which can be comprised of at least two ifnot three fibers or strands 22, 24, 26 or more such as shown in theFIGURE. While three different sets of fibers or strands 22, 24, 26 areshown for the thatch 14, and up to three sets are shown for the facefibers or strands 16, 18, 20, as understood by those normally skilled inthe art, even more strands, possibly of even different colors of nyloncould be utilized with the yarn fabric tufts 12 or the thatch tufts 14.Of course, any of strands 16,18,20 and/or others, or 22,24,26 and/orothers could be duplicative in coloration of any of the other strands16,18,20,22,24,26 and/or others.

When manufacturing the artificial grass 20 it can be done as it hastraditionally been done in the prior art by combining the fibers orstrands such as 16, 18, 20 and/or others together such as by twistingand/or even separately directing them through a single eye of a needleor other methods as could be done with thatch yarns or strands 22, 24,26 and/or others.

By utilizing such a technique the more resilient nature of the nylon foreither or both thatch tufts 14 and/or face fabric tufts 12 theartificial grass 10 can be more resistant to wear than the then priorart artificial grass products. Additionally, the applicant is aware ofabsolutely no manufacturers in the marketplace currently manufacturing100% nylon landscape face fiber 12 and thatch 14 to form artificial orsynthetic grass 10.

Furthermore no one in the marketplace has multi-color nylon thatchfibers or strands 16, 18 and/or 20 and/or others and/or thatch fibers orstrands 22, 24, 26 and/or others of those either. Accordingly, differentcolorations and textures are now possible over prior art constructionslikely with improved performance characteristics.

Still other advantages of a 100% nylon thatch tuft 12 and face fiber(i.e. grass blades) 12 will likely be an improvement over priorconstructions, possibly including improved aesthetic appeal.

Numerous alterations of the structure herein disclosed will suggestthemselves to those skilled in the art. However, it is to be understoodthat the present disclosure relates to the preferred embodiment of theinvention which is for purposes of illustration only and not to beconstrued as a limitation of the invention. All such modifications whichdo not depart from the spirit of the invention are intended to beincluded within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus set forth the nature of the invention, what is claimedherein is:
 1. A method for manufacturing an artificial grass productcomprising: tufting at least two nylon face fiber strands through afirst penetration in a backing comprising a plurality of firstpenetrations to form grass blades, wherein the at least two nylon facefiber strands are all wound in an untwisted orientation together arounda single cone and directed through a needle before being tufted throughthe first penetration in the backing; and tufting at least two nylonthatch fiber strands through a second penetration in the backingadditionally comprising a plurality of second penetrations to formthatch, wherein the at least two nylon face fiber strands are ofdifferent colors and the at least two nylon thatch fiber strands are ofdifferent colors, and wherein the second penetration is adjacent thefirst penetration.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the face fiberstrands and the thatch fiber strands are 100% nylon.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the colors of the nylon face fiber strands and thenylon thatch fiber strands are different each from the other.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, comprising tufting three nylon face fiber strands. 5.The method of claim 4, wherein the three nylon face fiber strands areeach a different color.
 6. The method of claim 1, comprising tuftingthree nylon thatch fiber strands.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein thethree nylon thatch fiber strands are each a different color.
 8. A methodfor manufacturing an artificial grass product comprising: winding atleast two nylon face fiber strands, in an untwisted orientation,together around a single cone; directing the at least two nylon fiberstrands through a needle; providing a backing comprising a plurality ofpenetrations; tufting the at least two nylon face fiber strands througha first penetration in the backing to form grass blades, tufting atleast two nylon thatch fiber strands through a second penetration in thebacking to form thatch, wherein the at least two nylon face fiberstrands are of different colors and the at least two nylon thatch fiberstrands are of different colors, and wherein the second penetration isadjacent the first penetration.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein theface fiber strands and the thatch fiber strands are 100% nylon.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the colors of the nylon face fiber strandsand the nylon thatch fiber strands are different each from the other.11. The method of claim 8, comprising tufting three nylon face fiberstrands.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the three nylon face fiberstrands are each a different color.
 13. The method of claim 8,comprising tufting three nylon thatch fiber strands.
 14. The method ofclaim 13, wherein the three nylon thatch fiber strands are each adifferent color.